Sunflower Love
by jumblegut-Lane
Summary: There's a newcomer to Konoha Prep. Everyone's enamored, but Ino is sure... this boy has a secret... AU (Sorry for the crappy summary I'm trying to be mysterious and alluring but I mean try the story! You might like it!) InoxSaku
1. Chapter 1

"Okay kids group time is over," Kakashi announced from the front of the classroom. The class had begun the year referring to him as "Mr. Kakashi", but the title eventually faded away, along with most of their respect for the man. They turned wearily towards the front of the classroom, but perked up when they saw the new face at the front.

"We have a new student," Kakashi said, with what they assumed was a smile. It was hard to tell with the mask, but no one was really looking at him. They were too busy ogling the new student.

"Hey, um, I'm Hoshino Haruno," the boy mumbled awkwardly. He stuck both hands in the pocket of his jeans and looked over to Kakashi to see if that was sufficient. Kakashi just waved his hand towards a seat, as he had already returned to the newest edition of Makeout Paradise. The boy began to make his way to the indicated seat.

Tenten leaned over to whisper into Ino's ear. "He is _so_ cute."

"I guess, but in like the weirdest way possible," Ino whispered in reply. Tenten couldn't argue with that. The pale pink hair and bright green eyes were easily the weirdest phenotype combination that the school had ever seen (and they had had some weird looking people there).

"Mm, but that face! He's so...," Tenten struggled for the right word. "Pretty! He's pre- Hey Hoshino! I'm Tenten I guess we'll be like diagonal seat buddies!"

Hoshino nodded as he settled into the seat behind Ino and offered a twitch of the corner of his mouth in reply. He slung his backpack onto his desk and rustled through it for a bit before leaning forward. "Do you have a pencil I can borrow?"

"Sure," Ino replied. She looked through her expensive brand name purse for a bit (she refused to wear a backpack) before a producing a pencil and shoving it into Hoshino's waiting hand.

"Thanks," he muttered, scribbling down notes in obscenely neat handwriting.

"Oh my god," Tenten gushed, indiscreetly leaning towards Ino again. "Did his whisper sound as hot as his lips looked?"

"Ugh stop," Ino complained, glancing at Hoshino to make sure he wasn't listening in on them, "He's not even that hot!"

"That's because you like guys with long hair," Tenten began teasingly. Ino gave her a warning look. "And dark eyes, and a moody smirk, and-"

"I am _not_ pining over Sasuke anymore okay?" Ino whispered angrily. "I just like a guy to- to look like a guy for God's sake! A little rugged you know? And his hair? Obviously a dye job." She snorted derisively and sent a look his way just as he met her eyes in a cool stare.

"_Shit_!" she exclaimed, turning quickly to avoid the his stare.

"Well I don't care what you think," Tenten argued, oblivious to the exchange. "That boy is foine as hell."

* * *

Against all odds Ino had every single class except one with the new boy, which was impressive considering the rigor of her courses. All through the day she'd been expecting to be confronted about bashing on the new boy on his first day, but he didn't say a thing. To anyone really. So, as Ino watched his retreating back as he left their final class for the day, she was a bit confused and more than a little relieved.

* * *

"My hair isn't dyed goddammit!" Hoshino screamed as soon as he'd closed the door to his room. He punted his pillow across the room. The pillow, wondering what it had done wrong, took the fall with a graceful flop, which only enraged Hoshino more. He proceeded to pummel the stuffing out of the pillow until he had sufficiently calmed down.

"It's the only pink thing I'm even allowed to have," he pouted.

"Mr. Haruno, would you like a snack?" a maid asked from the other side of the door.

"No thank you Maki," Hoshino answered politely. "Could you just... give me some time alone? Maybe an hour or so?"

"Yes sir," she replied dutifully. He listened for her footsteps heading away before he reached behind his back with a sigh of relief. After a couple of tries he got the clasp of the bindings undone, and sighed again as the wrappings fell to the floor. He felt so much better when his breasts weren't pressed so so tight against him.

"He" could finally breathe.


	2. Chapter 2

**So the cover is what it is because that's what I imagine Sakura's hair to be like as Hoshino. This story will switch between Ino's POV and Sakura's usually. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Ino Yamanaka!"

"Here!"

"Alright just to check if I missed anyone is... Hoshino Haruno here?" Anko called.

Tenten squealed and Ino turned to see Hoshino jogging in clad in his gym uniform.

"He can even pull off _sweats_!" Tenten scream-whispered, practically frothing at the mouth.

"Yeah, I'm right here," Hoshino answered raising his hand. "Sorry I was late, I have a note..." Anko grabbed the note, glanced at it, then promptly ripped it up and threw it onto the ground. Hoshino looked kind of affronted.

"Okay is... Kiba Inuzuka here?"

"Yeah," Kiba snarled from the door of the gym. The rest of the class visibly recoiled from him. With dangerous rumors surrounding the guy, many involving gratuitous violence and jail time, no one was keen on getting to know him. Some even said that he was a werewolf.

"Sit," Anko ordered, unfazed. Kiba let his eyes wander over his sitting classmates, lifting his lips into his legendary snarl. The guys tested their limits, glaring back at the boy for as long as they could before his wild aura pushed their eyes down again. Except one pair of curious green ones.

"Sakura?" Kiba asked, his snarl snapping into a startled look. The class turned to see who he was addressing. Hoshino's eyes opened wide in panic and he jumped up, slapping a hand over Kiba's mouth. He turned to the class to begin damage control. The room was silent.

"Don't call me that!" Hoshino scowled, shooting a glare at the boy. Ino watched curiously. How was the new transfer student connected to the most talked about delinquent at the school? It was obvious that they knew each other.

"Your name is Sakura? How much girlier can a name get?" Naruto called over the crowd, causing the class to break out into giggles. The girls eyed Hoshino as he blushed deeply. "Why do you have a girl name, man?"

"My parents wanted a girl. They named me Sakura," Hoshino shrugged. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, looked to the side, and adopted a pained "tortured past" sort of look.

"Naruto you asshole!" Tenten yelled, punching him ont he shoulder. The rest of the girls joined in, eventually throwing around expletives and hitting hard enough to bruise. Ino caught a hint of a smirk on Hoshino's lips.

_What's that about?_

"Okay everybody, as much as I love this display of spirit, we need to start PE! Now get into your groups!" Anko bellowed. She glared at the students until one caught her eye. "Haruno! You can join Naruto and Sasuke."

Sakura (because that's how everybody thought of him as now) had already begun to walk over when Sasuke objected. "Naruto and I are fine on our own Anko. Perhaps you could assign Sakura to another group. Maybe Ino or Hinata's group?" Anko stared at Sasuke. And stared some more. The silence began to get awkward yet again.

"Oh sorry Uchiha," Anko smiled. "I was just trying to remember myself asking for your opinion. I don't believe I did, you little shit! Haruno! In line! Let's go!"

"It's like Capture the Flag with scrolls , but there's only a few, and there're a lot of groups. It's in the Forest of Death and it's designed to make us fight. Basically, just stay of the way and don't hold me back, understand?" Sasuke asked, a whiff of menace in his words. Ino rolled her eyes. He definitely could have explained the challenge better than that.

"I'm sure you'll do fine Sakura!" Naruto grinned at him. "Just do your best man!"

_Yeah, we'll see how long that camaraderie lasts once Naruto gets competitive, _Ino thought.

Fifty minutes later the last of the students stumbled out of the Forest of Death and Anko stood to address the group. "And the group who got the most scrolls waaaas Naruto's group! In total they got thirty-three and individually, Sasuke got eleven, Naruto got nine, and Sakura-" Sakura winced at the name, "- got thirteen! Not bad for a newbie Haruno!"

Ino observed from the back of the crowd as they showered the new boy with praises, ruffling his hair and patting his back. Tenten had his arm in a death grip. But the thing that stood out to her the most was his expression. His phony, super fake, humble face that everybody was eating up like hotcakes. Aside from her, the only two people not congratulating the boy were Naruto and Sasuke.

Just as Ino begin to lose interest in watching the display, Sakura turned away from the crowd, not much but enough that they couldn't see his face. And he smirked. He smirked the biggest, cockiest, _smuggest_, _smirkiest_ smirk that Ino had ever seen. She smiled at that. He really was a big phony. His eyes caught hers and he blushed as Ino smiled down at him.

_That's right you big fake, I caught you right in the act._

* * *

_Shit!_, Sakura thought, tapping her pen against her desk. _She saw! That uhhhhh, that Ino girl!_

Ino strutted into the room with Tenten talking at her and seated herself behind Sakura with the ultimate grace. Sakura took a deep breath.

"Ino," she said, pasting a friendly smile on, "Can I talk to you alone for a second?" The rest of the class got very quiet as everyone tried to pretend not to listen. What kind of drama could the transfer student have on his second day, after all?

"Hey," Sakura said once they were out in the hallway, running a hand through her hair as if she were uncertain. Girls loved when she did that. She smiled up at Ino, feigning shyness and was surprised to be met with an anti-bullshit shield in the form of Ino's expression.

"Hi," the blonde replied moodily, checking her nails. "So what's up, why'd you call me out here?"

_What a bitch!_

Sakura cranked up the smile. "Well I know you kinda saw that face I was making earlier and I was hoping you wouldn't take it the wrong way."

"You mean take it as if you were a self-centered, two-faced bastard who's trying to get on everyone's good side by being a big fake?" Ino asked icily. "Because if you were hoping I wouldn't take it that way, it's too late." Sakura took a few step back and lifted her hands in a gesture of defeat.

"Look I'm sorry if I came off that way okay?" she replied defensively. "I was just glad that I was fitting in on my second day so sue me!" She looked up to find Ino's eyes a bit softer.

_Speaking of eyes... Wow. Wait, now's not the time for that! Right!_

"So I guess we can go back in then..." Sakura said, opening the door for Ino courteously. Ino grunted out a thank you, aparently annoyed by Sakura's act of chivalry.

"What did he say?" Sakura heard Ino's friend, the bun-head girl ask. "Was that conversation sexy? Because t looked really sexy! He was totally staring at your lips the whole time! Wait, _did he ask you out_?"

_This girl can not whisper!_, Sakura thought, resisting the urge to shake the bun-head. With her way of whispering the whole class could here her.

"Are you guys going out now?" Tenten whisper-yelled.

"No!" Ino hissed back, obviously getting annoyed. "We just talked about normal, regular stuff!"

"Like... how big his dick is or-"

"Oh my god Tenten stop! He can totally hear you right now! Look he's putting his head down! I bet he's blushing!"

"He can't even hear me! Besides we're speaking at the same level!"

_Because you're _both_ loud!_, Sakura screamed in her head.

"Anyway Ino at least admit he's hot. Because he's hot right? He's totally hot!"

"...His eyes aren't bad."

Sakura buried her head further into the crook of her arm because if she hadn't been blushing before, she most certainly was now.

* * *

Sakura stormed into the house, intending to go to her room, peel of the boob wrap, and ponder why Ino's words kept ringing in her head when her grandfather called to her from one of the dining rooms. She followed his voice to the room.

"How's school, son?" he asked her from behind his newspaper.

"My grades are fine. My real name was revealed today through an old acquaintance, though. However, several girls from my class are interested in me," she concluded dutifully.

_His eyes aren't bad... _

"They're calling you Sakura eh?" She nodded. His hand slammed down hard on the table. Sakura didn't move in the slightest. Men didn't flinch.

"That was sloppy of you," her grandfather warned, his voice sharp. "Eliminate the nickname as soon as possible. And consider taking part in a relationship with one of the girls from your class."

"Grandfather, I do not feel as though I am ready for this level of intimacy with—" He cut her off with a raised hand.

"Consider it. Consider it well and consider it _quickly_. I think you will find yourself coming to the correct conclusion. That is all Hoshino."

"Yes Grandfather." Sakura stomped away, pissed at being dismissed while speaking. It was obvious that her Grandfather was going to bulldoze her into a relationship whether she liked it or not.

"Oh and Hoshino?" Grandfather called again. "Wear your bindings for the rest of the night. Leaders do not stomp nor do they sulk like children."

"Yes Grandfather," Sakura yelled back.

"You _fucking_ asshole," she muttered underneath her breath.

"Do not remove them for a week now Hoshino, even while bathing. Disrespect is not tolerated here."

"Shit!"

* * *

**Next chapter: Why is Sakura doing all this? Let's see...**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yup. Two chapters. In a row.**

* * *

_It started with the tie._

_"But whhhyyyy Daddy?" seven-year old Sakura whined, tugging at the strangulation device that had been placed around her neck._

_"Because, sweetie, Grandpa... doesn't like girls," Kizashi replied helplessly, tangling his own tie in an attempt to tie it._

_"Is Granpa a fag?" Sakura asked solemnly, the word strange in such a young voice._

_"_What_ did you just say?" Mebuki demanded, storming into the room. Her hands were still at her ear as she had ben putting in an earring when she'd heard the outburst, but she paid it no mind now. "Where did you hear that?"_

_"Well we were playing in the yard then Shin hugged Kiba real hard then Kiba said he was a faaag because he likes boys," little Sakura giggled as she remembered the scene they'd caused._

_"Well your mommy likes boys," Sakura's dad chuckled, knotting the tie into several interesting, but unacceptable knots._

_"_Mommy's_ a fag?" Sakura asked, eyes wide with wonder. Kizashi laughed outright at that._

_"Don't encourage her!" Mebuki scolded, earning a bashful look from her husband. "Honey, I don't want to ever hear you using that word okay? That's a mean word." Sakura's eyes widened at that. Mean words were generally associated with timeouts and stern talking-tos. You weren't supposed to say mean words._

_"Kiba's bad," Sakura concluded with a firm nod. "I won't ever say it! Ever!"_

_"Good!" Mebuki smiled. She frowned, another though crossing her mind. "And there's nothing wrong with boy who like boys or even girls who like girls, understand? And don't let anyone tell you otherwise, you hear?"_

_"But just to be clear, Grandpa's not a fag," Kizashi added._

_"Kizashi!"_

_"Daddy! That's a _mean_ word!" Sakura screeched. Mebuki forgot her own objection to her daughter's. Apparently Sakura had found a new passion on the topic._

_"What?" Kizashi shrugged. "It's true! Grandpa likes women, he just doesn't think they are as good as men at things like business or talking. So if you play dress up—"_

_"Cross-dress up," Mebuki muttered._

_"—Grandpa will be nicer! Hopefully." Sakura nodded, though it was clear that she'd stop listening very early in the explanation, and had begun to fiddle with her tie like her father was._

_"Here let me get that," Mebuki offered in exasperation. She stepped closer to him and began tying the tie. "I don't see why we have to dress her up like this! Sooner or later your father is going to have to come to terms with the fact that Sakura isn't a boy!" _

_Sakura played with her hair, methodically destroying the do that Mebuki had spent an hour on._

_Mebuki continued,"You don't want the business, and women 'can't handle it' so that's that! He needs to just give the job to someone outside of the family! It's not the 1800s after all! It doesn't _have_ to be passed father to son!"_

_"Sure, he'll just have to 'come to terms with it'! Then he'll 'come to terms' with your flower shop shutting down. He'll 'come to terms' with us losing our house! If he 'comes to terms' with something that displeases him, he'll come to terms with a lot of things that displease us!" Kizashi countered sarcastically. _

_"Look," he started again, calming down, "If we just keep him calm for now, with this, we can keep this balanced like, forever okay?" Mebuki looked away, obviously not satisfied with the response._

_"Are we gonna go soon?" Sakura whined._

_"Your hair!" Mebuki rushed to Sakura's side to pat it down. Kizashi crept up from behind them and grabbed them into a tight embrace._

_"I don't know how a guy as ugly as me ended up hangin' out with such pretty girls! You guys make me look even worse than usual!" he exclaimed. Sakura giggled and even Mebuki let out a grudging chuckle._

_"Maybe if you would shave that beard," she murmured with a smile. He smiled and dropped two quick kisses, one on Mebuki's lips and one on Sakura's forehead._

_"We'll be fine," he said. And they had been. While he was alive at least._

* * *

She took a deep breath, relishing the freedom of having her boobs unwrapped _finally._

"Heya Mom!" Sakura whooped, busting into her mom's room with a small bouquet. Mebuki winced, but smiled.

"Are those for me?" Sakura's mom asked, reaching out for the flowers. Sakura withheld them.

"Nah, they're for Suzuki, the friendly ghost that's been haunting your room," she answered sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She handed over the flowers and leaned over for a hug.

"Such a teenager, oh nice arrangement," her mother murmured over the flowers. "You did this? Who am I kidding, of _course_ it was you. Look at the flowers you chose!"

Sakura knew them well. She'd included pink carnations to represent gratitude, peonies for healing, pink tulips for caring, yarrow for good health, and a few apple blossoms to represent—

"A promise?" Mebuki asked, raising a brow.

_To take care of you_, Sakura thought fiercely.

"Meh," she replied aloud, "I just threw 'em in there. Looked pretty." She could tell her mom didn't believe her, but the woman didn't push it. Sakura looked around. Something about the all-white walls made her realize fully how sick her mom was. She was living in a hospital with all-white walls. Like in the TV shows. She shook her head free of the thoughts.

"How're you feeling?" Sakura asked, taking her mother's hand into her own. "Those new meds messing with you?"

"I've definitely been better," Mebuki admitted. She got an elbow under her body, with some difficulty, and propped herself up. Sakura didn't offer to help. She knew what hell she would get for that.

"I should be more worried about you," Mebuki added. "Your grandfather's still got you dressing like a boy. Why doesn't he get you some more feminine clothes?" Sakura frowned and looked down at her outfit. She'd taken care to wear her most feminine outfit, and even attempted to stylize her hair.

"This is just what I like to wear Mom! I'm a tomboy!" Sakura lied, brushing off her mother's objections. She looked her right in the eyes as she said it, knowing that if she glanced to either side, she'd be caught.

"Such beautiful eyes," her mom sighed, putting a hand on her daughter's cheek. "I never understood how such dull shades of blue and green made such a brilliant green. And dark pink and sandy blonde certainly don't equal bright pink!"

"Uh oh. Mom are you saying there's brilliantly-green eyed, bright-pink haired mailman out there somewhere that I should be looking for?" Sakura teased gently.

"No! God no!" Mebuki chuckled, then laughed out loud. "You got your father's sense of humor that's for sure."

"Which was..." Sakura trailed off.

"Inappropriate," her mother finished for her.

"Yeah, that guy," Sakura smiled fondly. "Always jokin'." _Til the day he died._

She could tell that her mother was thinking it too. She felt the shift from laughter at old times to quiet remembrance. She broke the silence after a few minutes, not wanting to waste her any of her precious time there.

"But really, how are you doing?" she prodded. "Any more pain in your joints, any coughing issues?"

"Well I'd probably feel some joint pain if I didn't have enough pills in me to knock out an elephant. And as for the coughing it's been better. Definitely worse at night though. They're working on something for it."

Though the fact that her coughs were getting "better" sounded promising, but just being "better" than they had before still wasn't very satisfactory. The coughs had caused her mother excruciating pain and had her covering tissue after tissue in blood. To say they were better was a way of saying nothing at all. But Sakura didn't push her.

"And how's your grandfather been?" Mebuki asked, her voice full of concern. "Any pressure on the fact that he's paying my medical bills? You're not being forced to do anything are you?"

_Just to live a completely different life, why?_

"Of course not! He told you he was doing this for Dad didn't he? No strings attached!"

"Hm. You grandfather doesn't do anything for free."

_Truer words have never been spoken._

"The new school is nice," Sakura commented, in an attempt to change the subject. Thankfully, her mom took the bait happily.

"Ooh any new friends? Are you interested in any guys?"

"Yes, I did make a few new friends, mostly girls. They're pretty weird, but I like them a lot. And no, there are no guys that I'm interested in at the moment." She sighed, knowing what the next question would be.

"Any girls?" her mom asked hopefully.

"For the last time mom, no!" Sakura groaned. "You really want to have that acceptance, 'I love you no matter who you are' crying speech don't you?"

"I do..." Mebuki replied, her eyes glazing over. "It'll be such a good moment for us!"

"It won't be!" Sakura objected. "Because it's not gonna happen!" Mebuki sighed.

"Then at least bring by a really ugly guy so I can accept _him_," she settled, "Now tell me about these friends."

"Well the first one's Tenten," Sakura began, making a note to avoid any mention of the attraction the bun-haired girl had for her. Her mom would just eat that up.

* * *

"I trust your mom is well," Sakura's grandfather called his chair in the living room as Sakura entered the house. She followed his voice to the room that he was in.

"Yes Grandfather, she's doing well," Sakura replied. "Her coughs have subsided somewhat, and although she still has some pain, she is well medicated. Thank you, Grandfather."

"It's nothing, it's nothing," he said, waving a hand over his newspaper. He then lowered the newspaper. "Have you been considering starting a relationship with on of the females at your school?"

"I have, Grandfather, and I was hoping for just a bit more time to mull it over, sir."

Grandfather Haruno humphed. "You may have more, but don't think too long, grandson. After all, medicine _is_ expensive."

"Yes sir," Sakura gritted out, barely containing her anger. He nodded her dismissal and she stormed up to her room to change. She'd once made the mistake of attempting to wear her feminine clothes all day. That had resulted in yet another thinly veiled threat towards her mother's health.

"Stupid, stupid, _stupid_!" she muttered, launching another underserved attack unto her pillow. "I don't need a fucking girlfriend! No one's even doubting that I'm a guy! This is so _stupid_!"

_Wait a minute... I don't _need _a girlfriend at all. So I don't need a girlfriend. I just need to _try _to get a girlfriend! That can affirm my maleness just fine! Suck on that Grandpa!_

She relaxed against her pillow for a second before another thought overtook her.

_No girl will reject me! Half of them have a crush on me and the other half probably just wouldn't mind having a boyfriend! There's seriously no girl who doesn't like me! Except..._

* * *

Ino looked down at him in pure disbelief. "_What_?"

He looked embarrassed, his face was the same color as his hair. "I _said_ go out with me. Please."

**Next chapter: Ino's answer**


	4. Chapter 4

**The Update Theorem: If there are shorter chapters, then there will be faster updates! Also, please don't forget to review! I mean follows are great, favorites are awesome, but a review just makes my day!**

* * *

"What? No. Hell no. _Fuck_ no! I don't even like you, you know that!" Ino hissed back, painfully aware that they were in the middle of the cafeteria. Sakura looked almost... pleased.

_He knew he was going to get rejected, so why did he want to do this here?_

"But I think you could," he replied, a hopeful glimmer in his eye. "I didn't think I would like you, but now I do. A lot! More than I'm comfortable with, really." He ran a hand through his hair. Tenten listened in from beside Ino, trying to seem inconspicuous.

"Could we take this outside please?" Ino whispered to him. People had begun to notice the prolonged conversation of the two who usually didn't speak at all.

"We don't have to," Tenten and Sakura answered in unison. Ino and Sakura glared at Tenten.

"I'd rather we did," she told Sakura firmly. "And _you_ are not part of this conversation!" Tenten pouted as the two exited the room.

"I don't understand, why can't you just try being with me?" Sakura asked, exasperated.

Why_ am I getting the feeling that he's not really into this? _

"Hm," Ino grunted critically. "What do you even like about me?"

"Seems kinda narcissistic, but okay," Sakura grumbled to himself. "I don't know, I like the way you talk, especially when you're being mean or have a really good point against someone. I like when you bite your lip. That's uh, that's really hot and — "

"Okay, I'm going to stop you right there," Ino interrupted. She looked past his dismayed masked and as she did, she noticed that little pleased look reenter Sakura's eyes. "You don't really like me, do you?"

"What?" Sakura asked, shocked._ Now _that_ look is real._

"I mean you've been here two weeks, tops. You're just acting as normal as you can, just like you were in PE that one time, and now you're trying to drag me into your little nice boy act too!" Ino snarled, her confidence growing as her idea formed. "Trying to be the perfect guy huh? What am I, your little arm-candy girlfriend who follows you around to augment your manliness or something?"

"What. No," Sakura argued weakly. Ino prowled closer, realizing that she'd hit the nail on the head.

"Let me guess. You're gay and you want to use me as a beard. Of course, I should have known with the hair. As a matter of fact, Kiba recognized you in gym, that's where 'Sakura' started. What was he like your ex-boyfriend or maybe-"

"Stop!" Sakura ordered, pushing Ino away with both hands. Ino caught the look on his face and smirked in satisfaction. Now they could start talking for real.

"I'm not gay," Sakura stated defensively. Ino rolled her eyes.

_Of course that's what he starts with. Guys._

"You're right. I don't like you per-say. I think that you're really funny and smart, and even occasionally nice-" His smile took the bit out of the words. "- but I don't like you romantically."

Ino nodded proudly. _This is a weird thing to be proud of, but I'll take it anyway._

"I was hoping that you would be my girlfriend, well, mostly to keep the other girls from bothering me and to get my grandfather off my back. He really wants me to meet someone," Sakura chuckled ruefully. He stared at her with those big, green eyes.

Ino managed to keep a straight face for about three seconds before she completely cracked up. "Your _grandpa_ wanted you to get a girlfriend? That the lamest reason I've ever heard!" Sakura watched as she wiped tears from her eyes.

"You should've said so in the first place. Yeah, sure I'll be your fake girlfriend if you still want me to," she cackled. Sakura's eyes got huge.

"You will?"

Ino nodded, still finishing up her bout of laughter. A genuine look of panic overtook the boy's face.

"Oh so then, do you want to sit with me? At lunch I mean, or should I sit with you? I mean I already sit at your table since Tenten invited me, so how do we show we're um, should you sit on my lap or-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," Ino gestured for him to stop. He was getting ahead of himself. "I'm not into guys so this fake relationship needs to be as non-touchy as possible got it?"

"_What_?" Sakura practically yelled. He got ahold of himself and continued in a whisper. "Does anyone else know about your lesbian-ness?"

"No! Of course not! Well... one girl. But no one else! Why else would I get into a relationship with someone like you but to hide the lesbian thing?"

"Oh so after that whole talk you gave me, I'm _your_ beard?" Sakura smirked. His expressions and speech were noticeably more controlled now that he felt in control of the situation.

"No! I just, well everyone thinks I'm still pining after this guy called Sasuke, so I thought it'd be nice to get rid of the rumor! And hide my sexuality while I'm at it," she finished nonchalantly.

"Well, we're gonna have to kiss."

"Um, what part of lesbian don't you understand?"

"I don't _want_ to! That's not- just like a certain number of kisses per day to convince people that we're into each other." Ino recoiled and eyed Sakura warily.

"This sounds like the beginning of some romantic comedy. Are you sure you don't like me?"

"Yes!"

"Fine. Keep it that way. How many were you thinking per day?"

"Twelve. One for each period and then six for like break and lunch, after school..."

"Twelve? Six."

"Ten."

"Eight."

"Is there a reason we're only doing even numbers?"

"Not really. Eight."

"Done. So... shake on it." They shook.

"Alright!" Sakura smile, looking relieved. "So starting tomorrow, relationship!"

"Cool." The pair strolled back into the cafeteria nonchalantly and sat at opposite sides of the table.

Tenten leaned in towards Sakura. "What. The fuck. Did he say?"

* * *

Sakura stormed up to her room and grabbed her pillow, flinging it across the room into the corner. "DAMMIT!" That had not gone the way she'd wanted it to at all.

"I just got so caught up in the fight. Stupid, STUPID!" she muttered to herself. She paced back and forth like a crazy person. "If she'd just shut up for a second I could think! She doesn't fall for bullshit though, that's a nice plus. But she doesn't fall for my bullshit which is bad! And what's gay about my hair, it's perfectly in place!" She had a sudden realization.

"I picked the wrong one. _Shit_! I picked the wrong one! I should've pick a, a _Tenten_ or a _Hinata_ dammit! Well at least I don't have to deal with her liking me since she's gay. Wait... _I'm_ a fucking girl!"

A knock on the door. "Mr. Haruno would you like a snack?"

"NO!" Sakura screamed, throwing the hapless pillow at the door. "Shit! Sorry!"

_If Grandfather hears about this tantrum..._

"Okay I just need to calm down. Keep my cool. Keep her at a distance. It's all good." A sudden bolt of pain shot through her. She put her hand on her stomach. Knowing that it did no good, she attempted to rub the cramp away. Another cramp racked her body. "I'm on my _fucking_ period! Perfect. Just PERFECT!"

* * *

Y**eah Sakura's not usually this dramatic. Just a little more for her to deal with now.**

**Next chapter: A little more insight into Sakura's day-to-day life and Ino meets Grandpa Haruno.**


End file.
